Articles for tag: Vince Antonucci

April 22, 2020

Christian Standard

Church Giving Seems to Stabilize after Rough Start to COVID-19 Closures

We spoke with ministers of churches large and small in several states about how their church finances have been impacted by COVID-19 and the resulting stay-at-home orders. The sampling size is small—five ministers—but most report improved giving after a rough first couple of weeks. _ _ _ By Chris Moon When asked about church finances during the COVID-19 pandemic, pastor Vince Antonucci had a quick answer. “It’s scary,” he said. The lead pastor of Verve Church in Las Vegas—which averaged 285 people in attendance before the shutdown—is in a city that’s been particularly hard hit because of the outbreak. The

March 15, 2020

Vince Antonucci

The Apostle John: Transformed by Love

By Vince Antonucci Researchers tell us our identity drives our behavior. We think we make decisions based on a rational analysis of pros and cons. But far more often we make choices based on what James March called the “identity model.” March, a Stanford University professor who died in 2018, said when making a decision we essentially (and mostly subconsciously) ask ourselves three questions: Who am I? What kind of situation is this? What would someone like me do in this situation? What you do is determined by what you think of yourself. Growing up, I was quickly and consistently

April 17, 2019

Christian Standard

Church Helps Workers after Restaurant Fire (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Whitewater Crossing Christian Church in Cleves, Ohio, is helping about 50 employees of a local restaurant that suffered a kitchen fire earlier this year. The church has been holding weekly fish fry fund-raisers during Lent for Kreimer’s Bier Haus, a German-American restaurant just down the street from the church. The restaurant’s kitchen caught fire in January and the eatery has been closed for renovations since then. “Mark Kreimer, the owner, is a very good friend and part of our church,” said executive minister Jess Adkins. “We were trying to see how we could

March 25, 2019

Christian Standard

It’s God’s Kindness

By Vince Antonucci One time after a church service a lady bounced up to me and said, “Hey!” I said, “Hey!” “My name’s Sandy,” she said very quickly, “but not for long it isn’t. I’m changing it! It’s been a bad year for Sandys—Hurricane Sandy, Sandy Hook Elementary.” I nodded, a bit confused. “So, hey!” Sandy continued, “I just wanted to thank you for keeping it positive.” I asked what she meant. “I went to church a few times growing up, and I’ve gone a couple times as an adult, and I hate it. Hate it!” Sandy said. “You always

March 6, 2019

Christian Standard

The Stories Behind Eight Uniquely Named Churches

By Jim Nieman Church names aren’t what they used to be. Today’s church planters are choosing names that signify movement, evoke an emotion or a feeling, and capture the imagination. Even long-established churches are eschewing “old-style” church names in favor of names that convey something spiritual or otherwise meaningful. We wrote to ministers of a number of uniquely named churches across the country and invited them to tell us how and when their church decided on its name. We asked, “Why did you name your church what you did?” We also welcomed hearing interesting anecdotes about their church name. Eight

October 16, 2018

Christian Standard

My Heart Pounds within Me

By Vince Antonucci When our kids were younger my wife and I took them to a big waterpark. Our son was 5 and our daughter was almost 3, so we spent the day in the kiddie pools. Each pool had slides and all kinds of fun stuff. We played in one for a while, then walked about 100 yards to a second kiddie pool where we let the kids splash around. We then walked another 100 yards to the next one, where my kids repeatedly slid down one big slide. My wife walked over to the other side of the

April 13, 2017

Christian Standard

My Riskiest Move for God: I Had More to Lose Than Ever

Five Christian leaders tell what God did when they took a surprising step of faith. By Vince Antonucci I”ve heard people say faith in a big God allows you to take big risks. I”d say that doesn”t go far enough. Faith doesn”t just allow you to take risks; faith requires that you take risks. In fact, faith IS risk. When I became a Christian, I had a full scholarship to a top law school. I loved law school. The average first-year salary coming out of my law school was $80,000. While attending there, I felt God calling me into the ministry.

February 2, 2017

Christian Standard

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (19)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either.   Neill Snyder Neill Snyder grew up in the church and became a Christian at the age of 12. His love for Latino people led him to plant Iglesia Cristiana Southwest in Denver, Colorado. He and his wife, Rosy, have two preschool-age children. Neill”s Best Sermon: The best sermon on compassion is “Get God in Your Gut” by Vince Antonucci. The sermon can be heard at http://vivalaverve.org/media/messages (it”s part of the Renegade series). Why Neill likes this sermon:

October 9, 2016

Christian Standard

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (16)

By Arron Chambers Two preachers and their preacher sons tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Scott Eynon Scott Eynon has been pastor at Community Christian Church of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for 22 years. Community Christian celebrates its international diversity with attendees from 85 nations! Scott loves to say, “We get to be part of a church that looks like Heaven, with people from all over the world worshipping together.” Scott has been married to his wife, Lori, for 33 years and they have two sons, Chris and Steven. Scott”s Best Sermon: The best sermon

August 16, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

Writers You Know

By Mark A. Taylor Here”s one more indication that Christian churches and their leaders are having an impact on America: many today are sought-after book authors. I remember a conversation with a Standard Publishing salesman two or three decades ago who said this would never happen. Christian church preachers and professors just would not be accepted in the general Evangelical world, he explained. I don”t remember all his reasons, but I thought of him when I skimmed through the latest edition of a little catalog called Pastor Resources. The 62-page digest-size booklet contains ads for everything from Christian camps to

July 7, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Still Painful

By Mark A. Taylor All the news about conservative churches and their response to those with same-sex attraction reminded me of a post I wrote three years ago. That week I challenged  the church to demonstrate both grace and truth as we discuss this difficult issue and reach out to those celebrating and seeking gay marriage. Follow the links in the below post to even older posts, and you’ll see a constant message urging us to find ways to show gays that Jesus loves them. More than once in recent years, CHRISTIAN STANDARD has advocated for compassion toward homosexuals. We

August 3, 2014

Christian Standard

Gut Feelings

By Jennifer Johnson Scientists have told us for years there is a strong link between our feelings and the state of our stomach. The “enteric nervous system,” or ENS, in our digestive system has sometimes been called the “second brain,” and a 2013 study found that introducing different bacteria to the stomach can cause changes to our emotions. Chalk one more up for the ancient Greeks; long before today”s research, they”d coined the word splagna, which roughly translates to “compassion” but literally means one”s guts. They knew that when we feel empathy in our hearts, we can also feel it

August 2, 2014

Christian Standard

Planting Where Sin Abounds

By Jennifer Johnson When Vince Antonucci prepared to plant a church called Verve in Las Vegas, he thought, Of course we”ll be on the Strip. But when he began researching that area, he discovered there were no other churches there. “I wondered if that was unique to Las Vegas,” he says. “I began looking at the most “˜sinful” neighborhoods and streets in the world””places like the Red Light District in Amsterdam, Bourbon Street in New Orleans, The Sunset Strip in L.A. There are no churches there. But Jesus went to the most sinful places and the most sinful people. He

July 27, 2014

Christian Standard

Intimacy and Influence

By Vince Antonucci (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I”ve Ever Received.”) The best advice I”ve received is from one of my spiritual mentors, Dean Trune. In fact, you can find this advice in every e-mail Dean sends out. The advice is that the most essential thing I can do today is spend quality time with God. Jesus said we can accomplish nothing apart from him. He said as we stay connected to him, we will produce much fruit. Intimacy with God leads to influence in the world. Dean lives that, and I want to. Vince Antonucci serves

July 15, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

Recommitted to the Mission

By Mark A. Taylor  A large convention of Jehovah”s Witnesses met last weekend in Indianapolis, on the heels of the North American Christian Convention there Tuesday through Friday. When some JW delegates began arriving on Thursday, a teenager I know said, “I wonder if they”ll go through the hotel, knocking on every door.” We all chuckled, but later I thought, Wouldn”t it be something if OUR movement were known for persistently sharing what we believe about Christ? After last week”s convention, that could happen. President Tim Harlow”s theme for the week was ReMission, a challenge to recommit to the mission

March 7, 2014

Christian Standard

Your NACC Planner

By Jennifer Johnson In American Religion: Contemporary Trends, author Mark Chaves reports the percentage of people in the United States who say they “never” attend church has risen steadily over the last 30 years, and that if current trends continue, we will soon be a “Protestant-minority” country. Warren Bird, director of research for Leadership Network, recently blogged that 125 million Americans””more than 1 out of 3″”haven”t attended any religious services in the last year, and writes, “That number alone would be the 10th largest country in the world!” At this year”s North American Christian Convention, President Tim Harlow will challenge

October 15, 2013

Mark A. Taylor

Bringing People Together

By Mark A. Taylor “The power of the gospel to bring people together is greater than I thought,” Kevin Haah said in the September 26 Beyond the Standard BlogTalkRadio program. Haah”s New City Christian Church reaches the homeless in the church”s Skid Row neighborhood of Los Angeles as well as upwardly mobile young professionals with six-figure incomes. This is possible, he believes, “because we make the gospel the centerpiece.” “We”re all more messed up than we think we are, but God loves us more than we can imagine,” he said. “The gospel is the story of God coming to save

September 12, 2013

Christian Standard

Leading with Love in Las Vegas

By Vince Antonucci Travis moved from New York City to Las Vegas to make money. He was a photographer and started showing up at nightclubs and strip clubs asking, “How about you make me your photographer?” Travis became the photographer for many of Vegas”s nightclubs and strip clubs, and then strippers. Before long, Travis was sleeping with the strippers. Travis”s wife found out, and she moved out with their kids. Travis began convincing strippers that they could make more money, and soon he became their pimp. Travis is the kind of person I moved to Las Vegas to reach. We

June 30, 2013

Christian Standard

An Honors Program Focusing on Leadership and Community Service

By Jennifer Johnson “There”s a lot of discussion about the cost of investing in a college education,” says Dave Miller, vice president of advancement at Nebraska Christian College. “We want to talk about what the college is investing in the student.” At NCC in Papillion, NE, part of the investment is The Institute, a new program that rolled out in January and launches officially this fall. “The Institute is like an honors program, but focused on leadership potential and community service,” Miller says. Students must maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average to participate, but academic aptitude is just

January 26, 2013

Christian Standard

Sticky Conversations: Homosexuality

THIS IS THE FOURTH IN A SERIES OF FIVE “STICKY CONVERSATIONS”   By Casey Tygrett The kingdom of God has an open invitation. Paul talks about it freely, saying that in Christ the distinctions that set up boundaries between us melt into a mist and simply fade away (see Galatians 3:28). The brilliance of Jesus shines brighter than the different tones of our culture, gender, and reputation. I was thinking about this as I talked with a man who had recently started attending our church and had taken all the preliminary steps to get to know us as a church.

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